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Matt Patricia must get creative to fix Detroit Lions — or he'll be out of a job

Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia is trying to save his job at a crazy, challenging time — he can’t coach anybody in person.

The Lions won’t have a normal rookie camp because of the coronavirus crisis. As of right now, they won’t have a strength and conditioning program at the team facilities or organized team practice activity, which means no 7-on-7s.

In theory, the Lions could return to their facility May 18, assuming every other team is allowed back in their facility. But that seems unlikely.

So they have to get better now. They can’t wait for training camp to learn this offense and defense.

We talkin' about practice?

Lions coach Matt Patricia instructs players during a joint football practice with the Houston Texans on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Houston.(Photo: David J. Phillip, AP)

My son plays college football and is in the middle of a “virtual spring football” program. Several times a week, he goes up to his bedroom for several hours and has “football meetings” with his defensive coordinator on a Zoom call.

It's incredibly different from what they are used to doing.

Under normal situations, football players go through a multiple-step process to learn an offense or a defense:

♦ Step 1: A coach installs a new defensive scheme or set of offensive plays during a meeting, as the players try to stay awake. They go over every detail, in excruciating detail. It might be monotonous but it works. The coach has a chance to look his players in the eyes to see if they are getting it. This is no different from a teacher giving a lesson in front of a class.

♦ Step 2: A player has a chance to whisper to a vet: “What the heck is coach talking about?”

♦ Step 3: They go out to practice and inevitably, a player makes a mistake on the field, lining up wrong or making the wrong call, and a coach starts screaming, offering instant corrections: “You blankity, blank! That’s not what I coached you!”

♦ Step 4: A vet has a chance to put his arm around a rookie and explain it.

♦ Step 5: They go over film after practice, dissecting everything and a coach explains what the player did wrong.

♦ Step 6: The next practice, they go over it again.

And the next day. And the next day. And all that classroom talk turns into muscle memory.

But now, that entire process has been torn apart. They are missing practice on the field, the most crucial element of learning, and these players aren’t getting the muscle memory.

Just as it is difficult for some students to adjust to online learning, it will be a struggle for some players for the same reason.

But the Lions replaced the right side of their line and it takes time for an offensive line to jell – something that can’t be done virtually.

And what about that dreadful defense?

It’s debatable if it’s any better.

After trading Darius Slay, the Lions drafted Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah, but they need him to be a starter on Day 1. More than anybody, Okudah has to learn this defense right now, before the season starts.

“I would hope that Jeff Okudah would come in and start Day 1,” Lions general manager Bob Quinn said. “I sure hope so. But listen, if we don’t have an offseason program, would it take him a couple of weeks? Maybe. You never know. But I think he’s a very mature kid, very smart football-wise. I mean, I’m very confident that even if we do a virtual offseason program for six weeks, he’ll know enough of our defense to be a very capable player very, very early in his rookie season.”

But the Lions do have one advantage in this situation: They have the same offensive coordinator and a experienced returning quarterback. The receiving group returns intact. And Chase Daniel, a 10-year vet, will back-up Stafford. Yes, he is new. But it’s hard to imagine Daniel will have a hard time learning the offense remotely — this is his fifth team.

But the defense is a glaring question mark.

Still, I suppose every challenge can be viewed as an opportunity. If Patricia gets this right, the Lions have a chance to improve over the next few months.